Astros Promote Francis Martes

The Astros have promoted their top pitching prospect, right-hander Francis Martes, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Martes will initially work out of the Astros’ bullpen, Kaplan adds. With Houston already at the 40-man limit, it’ll need to drop someone in order to make room for Martes.

Unlike last season, when he handled Double-A with a 3.30 ERA 9.41 K/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate across 125 1/3 innings, Martes has struggled to produce positive results this year. In his first taste of Triple-A action, Martes has pitched to a 5.29 ERA over eight starts and 32 1/3 frames. Along the way, Martes has struck out an impressive 10.58 batters per nine, but his walk rate has shot from 3.38 last year to 7.79 this season and his grounder mark has dropped to 39.4 percent.

Despite his subpar output this year, Martes’ stuff could pave the way for him to immediately hold his own out of the Astros’ already loaded bullpen. Martes has two above-average pitches – a 93 to 96 mph fastball that can reach the high 90s and a quality curveball – per MLB.com, which notes that he also possesses an improving changeup and a developing slider.

It’s unclear if Martes will get an opportunity to start in the majors this year, but he could figure into the mix at some point if the Astros don’t get more from their complementary rotation pieces. While Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. have thrived in 2017, the rest of the Astros’ starters have battled injuries and/or ineffectiveness. Nevertheless, the team is a major league-best 42-18 and has already established a 12-game lead in the American League West. Now, a Houston club with no shortage of young talent will get a look at yet another potential long-term cog.

With regards to service time, Martes should fall short of Super Two eligibility if he spends the rest of the season with the Astros. As a result, he wouldn’t make a trip through arbitration until after the 2020 season or qualify for free agency until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. But Martes’ promotion could be a short one to aid a bullpen that Kaplan notes is currently “taxed.”

That’s what happens when a good team suddenly happens to be in a division where the other four teams are under .500, and playing nearly half their games against those four teams. Mix that with a weak AL Central. And then being good enough to fight off the East. The Astros’ schedule suddenly became very easy. Almost too easy.

Yep. The Astros certainly can at least get a #4 starter or a #3 rental for some guys who are completely blocked. IE J.D Davis, Moran, Hernandez. AJ Reed and Fisher are pieces to fit with say a Martes in a deal for Garrett Cole.

I think every Astro prospect is available outside of Tucker and Franklin Perez. Perez is an under the radar name. But he’s a 4 pitch kid whose up to 96 mph now with command. Suspect he will be a top tier rhp prospect at years end on lists.

Francis Martes wasn’t adding to his value as a starter in the hitter-friendly PCL but might increase it some as a reliever on an MLB roster. He was reportedly sought by the White Sox as part of a package for Jose Quintana this past offseason. Perhaps those talks will be revisited as the deadline approaches. In addition, the White Sox would surely have interest in many of those Astro positional prospects that are being blocked at the MLB level.

Sure, but will they trust any of those internal options to fill a rotation spot behind Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. during the postseason? The Astros might even have more of an immediate urgency with Keuchel on the D.L. and pending the prognosis of his neck injury.